With more than 80 years of experience in the chemical industry, Lenzing AG is an industrial leader in the manufacturing of wood-based cellulose fibers for the textile and hygiene supply chain, with over $2 billion in annual revenue.

Lenzing's fiber products can be found in apparels made by such recognized brands as Lululemon, Zara, Gap, Levi’s, Pottery Barn and Jockey. They’re designed with an eye toward meeting both customer needs and environmental sustainability.

As one of the largest global providers of wood-based cellulose fibers, Lenzing ships 1 million tons of raw material per year. To distribute that product, the company was applying fragmented, location-based solutions to manage each segment of the supply chain. Each location was autonomous, with no central “nervous system” controlling the pipeline, making it difficult to deliver to customers with speed and agility.

As a result of a disconnected supply chain, there was a lack of accurate communication about delivery and shipment updates. The company needed a more cohesive delivery experience, one that emphasized both transparency and predictability, if it was to foster customer intimacy and grow revenue.

In the third quarter of 2018, Lenzing chose ClearMetal as a strategic partner to help transform the company’s supply chain and boost overall efficiency. ClearMetal’s product is built around what the vendor calls the Continuous Delivery Experience (CDX), incorporating patent-pending data science and machine learning built atop multiple data sources throughout the supply chain.

With the help of ClearMetal’s CDX Platform, Lenzing can deploy supply-chain intelligence to learn, adjust, and drive improvements in freight delivery and the customer experience, the company says. It allows customers to make intelligent inventory decisions based on a continuous stream of live data. Via the CDX Customer Portal’s self-serve option, Lenzing’s customers have instant access to shipment status. The goal, the companies say, is to create an “Amazon-like customer experience,” while being able to plan and pivot when issues arise.

With ClearMetal’s CDX Platform, Lenzing says it can make smart decisions on the fly, based on real-time data. The company has increased speed to market, reduced shipping costs, and is able to more efficiently manage inventory for downstream supply-chain partners.

Additionally, Lenzing’s customer-retention rates have risen significantly since utilizing ClearMetal, with the company able to provide customers with accurate insights and save both time and money in the process.

Benefits of the tool for Lenzing include:

• A 15% reduction in additional fees such as detention and demurrage,
• A 70% reduction in manual time spent solving supply-chain exceptions, and 
• Improved carrier and 3PL performance management, supported by fact-based insights.

“We were impressed with ClearMetal’s relentless drive to innovate,” says Parsan Chand, Lenzing’s vice president of global supply chain. “ClearMetal gave us exactly what we needed: information in one central location, and the ability to give our customers the collaborative experience they now expect in the supply chain. With the CDX Customer Portal, we’re now able to address an exception and communicate with customers within minutes, not hours.”